Benefit Street
Benefit Street
4.5
NeighbourhoodsPoints of Interest & LandmarksHistoric Walking Areas
About
A mile of history is packed onto this cobblestone street lined with historic buildings. The Nightingale-Brown House, built in 1792, home to five generations of the Nicholas Brown Family (of Brown University) is a "must see" on the block.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Benefit Street and nearby attractions
The area
Neighbourhood: College Hill
How to get there
- Providence Station • 9 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
914 within 3 miles
Attractions
391 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
224 reviews
Excellent
123
Very good
85
Average
12
Poor
3
Terrible
1
Anonymous855
Trabuco Canyon, California1,736 contributions
Sept 2022
The Providence tour drove by here and peaked my interest so we went back for a slow walk. I'm glad we did!. Yes, there are some hills to climb but the feeling of history, with cobblestone, old brick and restored homes was delightful. Tip: eat at Denden at the end of the street for an enjoyable meal.
Written 8 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
katem j
Suffern, NY131 contributions
Jul 2022
A nice walk viewing historic buildings along this cobblestone street. We took many pictures including the Nightingale House. We then walked to the First Baptist Church and throughout Brown University. Had to climb some hills for the latter!
Written 15 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jake23
New Jersey6,855 contributions
Oct 2019 • Couples
One of the many nice streets in Providence for a walk. It’s very close to the Brown campus and runs through the RISD campus. There was an art show there today.
Written 12 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul W
Houston, TX317 contributions
Sept 2013 • Couples
We only had a short time to quickly absorb some of the history and culture of Providence. We decided to do the Rhode Island Historical Society's walking tour of Benefit Street.
We met at the Brown House, where we signed up and paid the small fee. There was one other couple on the tour with us.
The tour guide was extremely pleasant and happy to answer any questions. She gave us a lot of information about Benefit Street and the history of Providence, from the original founding of the city.
The highlight for us was the Athanaeum library.
We would strongly recommend this to any new visitors to Providence.
We met at the Brown House, where we signed up and paid the small fee. There was one other couple on the tour with us.
The tour guide was extremely pleasant and happy to answer any questions. She gave us a lot of information about Benefit Street and the history of Providence, from the original founding of the city.
The highlight for us was the Athanaeum library.
We would strongly recommend this to any new visitors to Providence.
Written 26 September 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HarperMKE
Milwaukee, Wisconsin108 contributions
Oct 2012 • Family
If you want a taste of old New England, walk the length of Benefit Street and pay attention to the architecture of the houses. They remain private dwellings today, several hundred years after their construction, and they are beautifully tended. A romantic evening walk with the streetlights on is a must.
Written 13 November 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RIDeb
Cranston, RI19 contributions
Providence is one of the oldest cities in the country and this is where it all began. Stroll along the shady street among lovely restored colonial homes dating back to the 1600's. Visit the Providence Atheneum, First Unitarian Church, the RISD Museum, the John Brown House, and First Baptist Church as well as shops and restaurants. The RI Historical Society offers a 90 minute walking tour (A Mile of History) which is worthwhile to really appreciate the historical significance of Benefit St.
Written 17 January 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nt33311
Providence, RI5 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
This is a beautiful street and what postcards are made of! The street is as beautiful during the day as it is at night. Night time, however, brings out a charm that takes you back in time. The street is absolutely gorgeous in the fall and spring/summer. The bricks are hundreds of years old and most of the houses are historic homes which mean that the lighting and facade have to be approved by the Historical Society. If you like Beacon Hill in Boston, you'll love Benefit Street. If you're visiting Brown or RISD, make sure you visit Benefit. Many Brown students live on this street for off campus housing since it's safe and very close to campus. The campus is a two minute walk, one street away. Bring your walking shows and take your camera out because it's a charming street with postcard views.
Written 10 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ANNE R
New England242 contributions
Mar 2018 • Couples
We noticed some reviewers say " not much more than a stroll" --I will add, oh-but how beautiful this stroll will be! The homes and churches, views through the openings between rooftops, the little gardens tucked here and there-the DOORWAYS!!! is a small delicious feast for the eyes, each new "view". It is charming to see the designs, colors and styles used in the past-and I applaud the wonderful maintenance which is apparent. It was a pleasure to see this area!
Written 3 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Waterfrontguy
Providence RI59 contributions
Jun 2012
Spend an hour walking Benefit Street & taking in the historic homes, hard to find a better preserved piece of history anywhere I suspect.
Written 17 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
8pixel
Wyckoff, NJ315 contributions
Aug 2012 • Family
Bottom Line: If you absolutely have to see it, drive through it.
Tip: Plenty of metered parking around the Brown campus.
Details: We stopped here after reading the great reviews online but were quickly disappointed by it. Starting at College Street, we headed one direction on a quiet Friday morning and quickly found ourselves thinking "is this it?" The houses were so-so and not "beautifully restored" by any means so we decided to turn around and head in the other direction towards the Providence Athenaeum (which was closed for that week). Fifteen minutes later we found ourselves thinking the same and decided to head back to the car. Not wanting to leave and think that we had "missed something" we decided to drive down both directions of Benefit St (a tight squeeze in some areas) and finally came to the conclusion that we were glad we didn't keep walking. Maybe a guided walking tour would have helped but I doubt it.
Tip: Plenty of metered parking around the Brown campus.
Details: We stopped here after reading the great reviews online but were quickly disappointed by it. Starting at College Street, we headed one direction on a quiet Friday morning and quickly found ourselves thinking "is this it?" The houses were so-so and not "beautifully restored" by any means so we decided to turn around and head in the other direction towards the Providence Athenaeum (which was closed for that week). Fifteen minutes later we found ourselves thinking the same and decided to head back to the car. Not wanting to leave and think that we had "missed something" we decided to drive down both directions of Benefit St (a tight squeeze in some areas) and finally came to the conclusion that we were glad we didn't keep walking. Maybe a guided walking tour would have helped but I doubt it.
Written 20 August 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda R
Lakeland, Florida
I see tours are not available on Sunday, but are we still able to visit on Sunday?
Written 28 September 2019
No there's not, but hotel nearby like The Hilton and biltmore can help with may questions yo have, and also in tayer st brown university there'S places for answers.
Written 9 March 2015
Showing results 1-3 of 3
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing